THE request for extension for Maharlika bars and videoke stalls was raised to the Baguio City Council on Monday, February 11, by City Councilor Faustino Olowan.
Olowan, who heads the committee on laws, human rights and justice, said the request of stall owners is being backed by humanitarian reasons, citing they have been occupying the spaces for a long time now and have complied with peace and order concerns by hiring security to man the area.
The city official said there will roughly be 100 establishments to be affected in the area located at the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th floors of the Maharlika Livelihood Center.
Opposition for the request came from Councilor Mylen Yaranon saying the council, in a decision last year, moved to close the bars with Mayor Mauricio Domogan giving an owner an extension up to December 2018.
Last year, the council decision wanted the administration of Maharlika Livelihood Center and its lessees to stop the operation of bars and other establishments serving liquor inside the government facility because the same is in violation of existing ordinances.
“We want to restore Maharlika Livelihood Center to its original grandeur. In our Unesco Creative Cities Network designation as a Creative City, Maharlika Livelihood Center is identified as one of our Creative Centers for the sale and display, of our very own products. We really have to close those bars and videoke, it existed for how many years already, causing damage and deterioration to the building. It is even a fire trap and source of criminality. We need to make Maharlika, which is at the center of Baguio, safe, clean and beautiful for our citizens, students and tourists,” Yaranon said.
Yaranon added it is one way of rehabilitating Baguio City by removing non-conforming uses within the market adding bars serving alcoholic beverages should not be at the heart of the city.
Last year, the local legislative body deliberated a resolution authored by Councilor Edgar Avila calling for the strict implementation of Sections 134 and 139 of Tax Ordinance No. 2000-01.
The local government entered into a contract with the former Ministry of Settlements headed by former First Lady and now Ilocos Norte 2nd district Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos for the put up of the Maharlika Livelihood Center in a city-owned lot right at the heart of the city to serve as a business center for local traders.
The contract is set to expire by 2025 and the facility will be eventually turned over to the local government after the lapse of the agreement.
The council deferred further deliberation on the issue and set talks for the request for next meeting.